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Monday, 30 April 2012

The Levellers - Static on the Airwaves

Time to
crack open a celebratory drink as perennial agit-punk folk rockers
The Levellers are back with a new album.

The
release of Static on the Airwaves is imminent, and while it may seem
like only yesterday that the critically acclaimed 'Letters from the
Underground' was unleashed on the public - and gave some of us ageing
and jaded protester a clutch of new anthems to rally around - it was
actually four years ago.

It's
entirely possible that I didn't realize the passing of time as the
Levellers themselves didn't rest on their laurels in the intervening
years.

Instead
there was the reissues of the first few albums with bonus tracks, and
a spectacular tour to celebrate the anniversary of 'Levelling the
Land'.

Obviously
it's been busy, busy, busy in the world of The Levellers, but they
haven't been that busy that they couldn't manage to find the time to
write and record what is their tenth studio album.

It's
undoubtedly something of an achievement to reach double figures in
album releases for bands now.

It seems
that the days of artists having a large back catalogue of material
has been left behind with a relentless boom and bust of bands now
being the norm.

Yet here
are the Levellers bucking yet another trend, and doing it in style.

Admittedly
while it may not sound as immediately urgent as Letters from the
Underground was, it's certainly no step backwards.

Far from
it.

Consider
'Static on the Airwaves' as a more mature collection of songs.

The fire
is still there, and it's apparent on every track, but the impression
is that they don't feel the need to roar the message any more, and I
like that.

It's
another facet to them that fans can begin to wrap their heads around.

It feels
like we are all growing in the same direction, and at a similar pace.

What we
have on display is a more reasoned and incisive level of global
commentary that cuts to the bone just as hard as it would if it was
the rallying call to arms of old.

The
soundtrack to a night of drunken revelry and politics has been
dropped, and in its place a more coherent argument for seeking out an
alternative to the status quo is advanced.

It's all
rather clever in the way it worms its way in and acts as a catalyst
to reconsidering your understanding of the world we live in.

So much
of it will be considered as preaching to the already converted, but
there's never any harm in being reminded that politically while we
may feel lost and alone that none of us really are.

I has to
be said that one of the albums many strengths is in how the band have
used historical tales to mirror current situations in the world.

It's a
timely reminder that there is nothing new under the sun and what we
are seeing is the age old rise and fall of empires going on around
us.

Maybe
some young music lovers looking for something new will listen to the
album and be able to read the writing on the wall as so many of us
did when the Levellers first arrived on the scene all those many
years ago.

I
sincerely hope so.

In some
way the truth still rings out from their albums and it really isn't
that difficult to hear.

Place it
as the aural backdrop to the wars that are still raging across the
world, the ongoing implosion of economies, and how regardless of how
bad things get that the continued resilience of the affluent is
arrogantly apparent and as a body of work it all makes complete
sense.